In the last month or so, there has been a rash of really good information and news apps for the iPad coming out. It seems that Flipboard may have opened up the gates…
I have been using Flipboard, Zite, Taptu, Pulse, and Hitpad for accessing my news and trending information. Since they are all free (yay!), I have been experimenting with them.
Most of these reader apps have integrated access to such ancillary tools as Twitter, Instapaper, Facebook, as sources for content as well as for methods to save/send this information…ahem, I believe that the current buzzword for this activity is now ‘curation’!
What are the differences?
Flipboard came out first, and has Twitter, Facebook, and now Google Reader integration in its content.
Zite has integration with Twitter and one’s Google Reader account, but has the added feature of choosing more content for you based upon what you have read…I find that this really works for me, and that I have had increasing amounts of worthwhile information brought to me from sources I would (probably) never found otherwise…
Taptu is another information aggregation app which is similar to Pulse (a more straight forward aggregation tool where you can integrate your Google Reader account). It works, but I am finding that I use it less and less, by virtue of the fact that other than tweeting or emailing what you have found in this app, there are no other integrated methods with which to save information (i.e. Instapaper, Read it Later, etc.) … I can see that this will ultimately be a losing cause for me with this app…
Hitpad is the newest of my acquisition on the iPad and I like it so far…it feels more like a supercharged version of searching on Twitter, and the act of searching is really the focus of this app (versus consuming already aggregated content).
Finally (for the text and magazine based apps0 I have been using Pulse, almost as a standard with which to compare these newer apps… Interestingly, I find that many of the aspects of the user interface in Pulse are matched in Flipboard, Zite, and to a lesser degree in Hitpad.
There are also some new video aggregation tolls coming out for the iPad. The most obvious video answer to any of these already mention iPad ‘magazines’ may be Squrl which literally aggregates the collections, favorites, and bookmarked videos you may already have (on a variety of online video sources). This app presents all of this content to you in one wrapper…it’s a nice idea.
A much different take on the idea of presenting ‘curated’ videos is the app Show-you. This app is closer to a mashup of video content and social networking in that it is all about sharing and consuming video’s suggested (or merely brought into the app by others…). The net result is that you can find some videos you would never, ever have found otherwise…for good or bad.
The result of all of these apps is that instead of winnowing down these contestants, I find that I use all of them…to varying degree, and for different reasons. I suggest that if you have an iPad, and consume online news and information that you should check all of these free tools out.
Killer iPad Apps: Squrl – All the Best Videos from All the Best Sources, with AirPlay Support
http://justanotheripadblog.com/ipad-app-reviews/killer-ipad-apps-squrl-all-the-best-videos-from-all-the-best-sources-with-airplay-support
First look: Airplay-enabled Squrl: Internet video curation tool for iPad
http://scobleizer.com/2011/04/12/first-look-airplay-enabled-squrl-internet-video-curation-tool-for-ipad
Taptu: Real-Time Social Search on Your Mobile
http://mashable.com/2009/11/10/taptu-realtime-search
Taptu brings customized news approach to iPad
http://www.macworld.com/article/159242/2011/04/taptu_ipad.html
A look at Hitpad & Zite for iPad
http://justanotheripadblog.com/ipad/a-look-at-hitpad-zite-for-ipad
ShowYou, a Remote Control for Web Video
http://www.fastcompany.com/1746996/showyou-a-remote-control-for-web-video
